Mergers and Acquisitions

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Dates Location Tuition
Jan 24, 2010 - Jan 29, 2010 Philadelphia $9,475
Jun 13, 2010 - Jun 18, 2010 Philadelphia $9,475

Mergers and acquisitions activity over the last 10 years has run at unprecedented levels. Moreover, M&As are a key element of many firms' strategies to maximize value and create sustainable competitive advantage. Yet many acquisitions fail. Deals that were supposed to create great value for the organization end up destroying value. Why? Acquisitions are complex and difficult to execute and manage successfully.

Mergers and Acquisitions will help you develop and implement successful strategies for your M&As. Faculty provide a broad, strategic perspective along with a detailed examination of key elements of the M&A process. An interdisciplinary team of faculty helps you determine a rationale, select acquisition targets, value them, and evaluate the long-term potential of the partnership. You will get the tools to manage this complex process, from identifying your acquisition strategy, to bringing the deal to a close, to thinking through integration issues.

"Various studies have shown that mergers have failure rates of more than 50 percent. One recent study found that 83 percent of all mergers fail to create value and half actually destroy value. This is an abysmal record. What is particularly amazing is that in polling the boards of the companies involved in those same mergers, over 80 percent of the board members thought their acquisitions had created value. We are beginning to understand some of the reasons why these mergers fail. This program offers strategies designed to improve your odds for success."
— Robert W. Holthausen, The Nomura Securities Company Professor, Professor of Accounting and Finance and Management

The program is complementary to Strategic Alliances: Creating Growth Opportunities, which focuses on how to form, implement, evaluate, and sustain successful partnerships.

Tuition for Philadelphia programs includes lodging and meals. Prices are subject to change. Program Consultants are available to provide more information on course specifics and discuss how this program might meet your needs. Please contact them by telephone at +1 215.898.1776 or by e-mail.


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Through a series of discussions with Wharton faculty and a high-caliber group of peers, case studies, and computer simulations, you will gain experience in handling M&As from start to finish. You will practice methods for determining a company’s value and risk and setting the price that should be offered for the selected target. In addition to Finance faculty, the program draws on expertise from the Wharton Management, Legal Studies, and Accounting Departments, as well as outside practitioners. Crucial to successful acquisition strategies is an ability to simultaneously manage many different elements of an acquisition. Wharton’s interdisciplinary team of faculty enables participants to understand the complex web of acquisitions.

Session Topics for the mergers and acquisitions program

  • Motivations for Acquisitions
  • Valuation Methods and Financial Analysis
  • Tax and Accounting Issues
  • Acquisition Analysis and Due Diligence
  • Strategic Considerations in M&As
  • Strategies for Post-Acquisition Integration
  • Negotiation

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The course is designed for any executive who is involved in devising and/or executing an acquisition, from CFOs and vice presidents of business development to executive directors of finance and senior business analysts. While this course assumes no previous experience in mergers and acquisitions, it does require a basic knowledge of accounting — i.e., familiarity with balance sheets, income and cash flow statements, and finance. A refresher on these topics is offered on the Sunday afternoon before the program.

We encourage companies to send cross-functional teams of executives to leverage the application and value of the program. Additional group benefits are available when four or more participants attend a program.

Learn a coherent process for integrating the strategic, managerial, economic, and financial decisions related to mergers and acquisitions. See why the acquisition strategy is related to valuation, negotiation, integration, and due diligence. You will:

  • Understand how goals and strategy drive decisions about valuation, negotiation, integration, due diligence, and other aspects of the deal.
  • Appreciate how deal structure affects M&A outcomes.
  • Become a more effective negotiator in a merger or acquisition deal.

Robert W. Holthausen, PhD ROBERT W. HOLTHAUSEN, PhD
Academic Director
Chairperson, Accounting Department
The Nomura Securities Company Professor
Professor of Accounting and Finance and Management
The Wharton School

Professor Holthausen's research is in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, investment management, and valuation. His research has studied the effects of management compensation and governance structures on firm performance, the effects of information on volume and prices, corporate restructuring and valuation, the effects of large block sales on common stock prices, and numerous other topics. His research has appeared in such journals as the Accounting Review, the Journal of Accounting Research, the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Journal of Finance, and the Journal of Financial Economics. Professor Holthausen’s consulting work focuses on areas such as performing valuation analysis and developing fundamental trading rules for equity portfolio management. He has teaching experience at the undergraduate, MBA, and PhD levels and has won teaching awards from both the undergraduate and MBA students at Wharton, including the David J. Hauck Award for undergraduate teaching, awarded to one tenured faculty member per year.
Harbir Singh HARBIR SINGH, PhD
The Mack Professor
Professor of Management
Vice Dean for Global Initiatives
Co-Director, Mack Center for Technological Innovation
The Wharton School

Harbir Singh is a leading researcher on strategic alliances and strategies for corporate renewal, including path-breaking projects on managing acquisitions and alliances and post-acquisition management. He has consulted for companies such as Bell Atlantic, IBM, Merck, and AT&T. His current research includes strategies for corporate alliances and acquisitions, corporate governance, joint ventures, management buyouts, and corporate restructuring. He serves on the editorial boards of several prestigious publications and has extensive experience in working with senior executive audiences in the U.S. and India.

"This is without question one of the best programs I have participated in during my career. I left Wharton with a totally new perspective on how to grow our organization and create value through M&A activities. I acquired a template on how to differentiate long-term 'strategic' growth from 'value-destroying' activities. I strongly recommend this program to any senior executive responsible for business development, as well as mergers and acquisitions, in any business enterprise."
— John Wamugi, CEO and President, Finmetrics Technologies

"I have already recommended this program to others because: 1) the combination of 'strategy' and 'finance' spans breadth of issues, 2) the focus on integration is crucial, 3) fellow classmates add a lot of value."
— Financial Analyst, Defense Agency

"The course content is terrific. The faculty is extremely knowledgeable. The administration and day-to-day management of the course is very well done. The students come from all over the world; their knowledge and expertise level was very good. There were no bad sessions. In fact, making a choice of electives was difficult. I felt I missed on ones which I did not attend."
— Director, Corporate Development, Industrial Gasses Distributor

"Most people don't understand the basics, and this program nails them. All of the topics covered are crucial to understanding the process. The course was run very professionally, the faculty members were very helpful, the course material was extremely relevant, and the facilities were great. Thank you for an excellent job!"
— International Commercial Banker

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